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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: march · fall · ground · perch · patient · bass · shower · chair

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. bass — the fish
  5. march — the month
  6. fall — to drop
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. ground — the earth
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. chair — a leader
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. fall — to drop
  15. march — music
  16. march — the month
  17. shower — to wash
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. ground — a position
  20. fall — the season
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. perch — the fish
  23. ground — crushed
  24. shower — rain

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com